1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a switch assembly having a shuttle function and a button function in an integrated form.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic product, such as a video cassette tape recorder (VCR), a video tape recorder (VTR), or a digital video disk player (DVDP), is provided with a plurality of manipulation knobs to manipulate functions of the electronic product. The manipulation knobs are for various operations of, for example, playing, fast-forwarding, re-winding, pausing and stopping, according to the on/off state of the switches installed on a printed circuit board (PCB). However, because there are so many different manipulation knobs, the size of the product must be oversized. Recently, an integrated switch assembly has been developed to solve the problem by selectively manipulating a plurality of functions.
FIG. 1 is a cross section view showing a conventional switch assembly, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional switch assembly 100 includes a shuttle unit 120 and a plurality of tact switches 131 and 132 disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB) 110, a shuttle knob 140 operating the shuttle unit 120, and a button knob 150 for turning on/off the tact switches 131 and 132. The conventional switch assembly 100 further includes a board holder 160 and a button knob holder 170 interposed between the tact switches 131 and 132 and the button knob 150.
The plurality of tact switches 131 and 132 are arranged in a radial direction with respect to the shuttle unit 120 rotatably disposed on the PCB 110. The plurality of tact switches 131 and 132 are located at predetermined intervals and signals the performance of different functions, namely, playing, stopping, pausing, or inserting/ejecting. The board holder 160, located on the front surface of the PCB 110, where the tact switches 131 and 132 are located, compensates for a stepped width between the tact switches 131 and 132 and the PCB 110.
When assembled with the button knob holder 170, the button knob 150 is connected to the front surface of the PCB 110 where the board holder 160 is disposed. The button knob holder 170 is provided with a plurality of poles 171 and 172 protruding therefrom and corresponding to the tact switches 131 and 132 fixed to the PCB 110. As a side of the button knob 150 is pressed, the poles 171 and 172 of the button knob holder 170 turn on/off the corresponding tact switches 131 and 132. The shuttle knob 140 is connected to the shuttle unit 120 to rotate 360° in either a clockwise direction or a counter-clockwise direction. The button knob 150 includes a plurality of tension ribs 155 spaced from the shuttle knob 140 by a predetermined distance. For example, a user can adjust the volume of sound by rotating the shuttle knob 140.
However, the conventional switch assembly 100 has a complicated construction requiring assembly of the shuttle knob 140, the button knob 150, the button knob holder 170, and the board holder 160 with the shuttle unit 120. Therefore it is difficult to disassemble the switch assembly 100, which increases manufacturing costs. Particularly, since the shuttle unit 120 is a single unit integrating a plurality of components therein, it has to be manufactured as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) part, resulting in increased manufacturing costs.
Also, if a malfunction occurs in the relatively expensive shuttle unit 120, the entire switch assembly 100 has to be replaced causing increased maintenance costs.